5 reasons Pittsburgh Steelers won’t make the playoffs
By John Buhler
With Ben Roethlisberger out for four to six weeks after undergoing knee surgery, here are five reasons that the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t make the playoffs.
Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger underwent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus suffered in Week 6’s loss to the lowly Miami Dolphins. The Steelers are now going to have to be without their future Hall of Fame signal-caller for the next four to six weeks.
While Pittsburgh is 4-2 on the season, is it time for the Steelers to feel a little worried about their chances of making the playoffs? Here are five reasons why Pittsburgh will end up missing the playoffs because of the Roethlisberger knee injury.
5. Landry Jones
With Roethlisberger being out for the next four to six weeks, the Steelers will be quarterbacked by fourth-year pro Landry Jones. While Jones is very familiar with what offensive coordinator Todd Haley wants to do, he’s not anywhere near the dynamic playmaker of Roethlisberger.
That being said, Jones is good enough of a backup quarterback for the Steelers to hover around .500 in Roethlisberger’s extended absence. Unfortunately, that allows AFC North rivals like the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals to come right back into the divisional race. Baltimore is only one game back of 4-2 Pittsburgh at 3-3. Cincinnati is two games back of the Steelers are 2-4.
Jones has played in 11 NFL games since his rookie year in 2013. He is 1-1 as a starter with both of his starts coming last season when Roethlisberger was out with a foot injury. Jones has completed 57.1% of his passes for three career touchdowns and four career interceptions.
Yes, he is a backup quarterback, but the Steelers don’t have the luxury to lean on Jones in Pittsburgh’s next three to five starts. Pittsburgh thankfully has a bye in Week 8 after their home game in Week 7 against the New England Patriots.
The AFC North is going to be decided by a game or two. Barring any other unforeseen injuries happening in the division, Pittsburgh is now at least two games worse. Maybe that is enough to cost the Steelers the division or an AFC Wild Card berth?